Writing Practices and Formatting Checklist

Avoid plagiarism. This means that you must assiduously avoid giving the impression that work is yours when it is not. You must quote literal quotations. You must cite paraphrases. Additionally, be sure to acknowledge any classmates who worked with you or otherwise helped you. If you are unsure whether your writing plagiarizes, read this article and then reach out to me.

Scientific writing should be well organized and as specific as possible. (Create a detailed outline before writing! Avoid generalities!) Limit the use of modifiers (i.e., adjectives and adverbs), and avoid subjective modifiers altogether. Make sure that you write in the active voice. Avoid unnecessary repetition and superfluous verbiage.

I expect the paper to be well organized and polished. Try to avoid these common problems: sentences in passive voice, run-on sentences and paragraphs, and any pretence to know things you do not. Avoid both colloquialism and pointlessly elevated diction. (See [Oppenheimer-2006-ACP]_ and [Brown.Anicich.Galinsky-2020-OrgBehHumDec]_). If you are not a native English speaker, ask an English speaker to read over your paper. Unless you are a skilled writer, plan to discuss an early draft of your paper with the Writing Center.

Here are a few widespread examples of inappropriate attempts to elevate diction.

Using ‘impact’ to mean ‘affect’:

Use the verb ‘impact’ to describing meteors hitting the earth or other actual impacts.

Using ‘methodology’ to mean ‘method’:

Methodology is the systematic study of methods.

Using ‘utilize’ to mean ‘use’:

Use ‘utilize’ to mean ‘find a profitable or practical use for’. (Thus one might utilize ‘utilize’, but the usual use of ‘utilize’ is a misuse.)

Using the verb ‘leverage’ to mean ‘use’:

Use the verb ‘leverage’ to mean ‘use for extra advantage’, as when one uses a lever.

Using ‘endeavor’ to mean ‘try’ or ‘strive’:

Use the verb ‘endeavor’ to mean ‘strive resolutely’.

Using ‘usage’ to mean ‘use’:

Use ‘usage’ to mean ‘quantity used’.

For the term project, figures will include at least the following: a rough UML classifier diagram of the model agent types, a rough UML diagram of the model schedule, a box plot for each output variable, and a scatter plot for each correlation considered, Sensitivity plots are often a good idea as well.

Include a table of baseline parameter values. Also, include a table specifying each scenario considered. (This may be a table that specifies parameter sweeps.) You should include a table of descriptive statistics.

When you report experimental results, carefully follow the experimental design outline. Append a design outline to your paper, but include a well integrated discussion in your paper. The discussion of results belongs in the body of your paper, not in the appendix.

Set your page dimensions to letter size (8.5 inches by 11 inches), and use one-inch margins. Double space the text of the paper, and use a 12 point serif font for the body text. Request permission if you are outside the page limits stated in the assignment.

The first page should begin with a title, identification of the author(s), any needed attributions (e.g., to classmates), course identification (by course number), and the date. For individual work, the author identification is simply your name. For group work, it is your group name and all member names. Attribution is for anyone else who helped; when code is involved, it also cites the creators of any borrowed code. For group work, each contributing member should submit the same document.

The abstract should use the same font as the body text. Its title (Abstract) should be in bold-face. You may use wider margins for the abstract, but do not center-align the abstract text.

Use author-date citation references (not footnotes) in the text. Every citation reference in your text should have a corresponding citation in the References section. (Be sure to cite the original model and any software used for diagramming or data-analysis.)

Provide full citations (not just links) in a final References section, which must be consistently formatted in the style of your choice. If your citation includes a URL, include an access date for that URL. Every citation in your References section should have at least one corresponding citation reference in the text. Citations should be sorted alphabetically (by the first author’s last name.)

Use footnotes sparingly. Usually a footnote reference should be placed after punctuation, preferably a period, rather than mid-sentence. Do not use footnotes for citation details.

Place each figure and table near to your discussion of it, not in a separate appendix. Each figure and table should include a helpful caption and enough notes so that a reader can readily understand it without repeatedly referring to the surrounding text. (Notes may be in a smaller font and single spaced.)

Figures should be numbered consecutively and helpfully captioned below the figure. Refer to figures by their numbers, and discuss them in order. Each plot must include a helpful title and informative axes labels.

Tables should be numbered consecutively and helpfully captioned above the table. Refer to tables by their numbers, and discuss them in order.

Unlike the body text, tables should be single-spaced. Tables should minimize the use of dividing lines. In particular, avoid vertical lines in tables. To see why, explore some online examples.

Construct your figures and tables carefully to be maximally communicative about your model and results. Ordinarily, each figure or table should self-contained. This means, it should be understandable without turning to the surrounding text. Typically, each figure or table must include explanatory notes (right below the figure or table). See your favorite Economics journal for examples.

Figures and tables should appear next to the related text in your paper, not relegated to the end of the paper. Be wise in your choice of presentations. Do not use tables when figures would be more helpful. Do not use 3D figures when 2D figures are less distracting. Do not use grouped histograms when line charts would be easier to read. And so on.

In addition to figures and tables, you may choose to include listing of pseudocode or actual code. These listings should be titled, single-spaced, separately numbered, and referred to by number in the text.

You are expected to spell check your document before submitting it. Also, please use a grammar checker if one is available. (Most word processors include some kind of grammar checker.) I prefer that periods be followed by two spaces, in accord with the 6th edition of the APA style guide, but this is not required.

Use a consistent style throughout the paper. If you are using a word processing programming, you should achieve style consistency by actively using styles. Section headers must be styled in a larger (or otherwise distinct) font. You may also number your sections; this is recommended but ungraded.

Styling Resources:

• Word: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2862ZFSerso

• LibreOffice Writer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0vppPe5hUY

• Google Docs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOupWV402Og

Indent paragraphs. (A first paragraph of a section or subsection may be exempted.) Do not skip an extra line before a new paragraph. Do not indent section headings; set them apart by adopting a distinct style (e.g., a larger font or different color).

Use appropriate punctuation. Distinguish between the hyphen, the en dash, and the em dash. Use the Oxford comma.

Use a serif font such as Cambria, Georgia, Times New Roman, or New Baskerville. (Note that the current default font in Microsoft applications is Calibri, which is a sans serif font, and is therefore not suitable for a term paper.) Use a 12 point font in the body of the paper. (Use a smaller font for tables whenever needed.) For any code (including parameter names), use a distinct, monospaced font, such as Courier New, Lucida Console, or Andale Mono.